An investigation is underway by the Nashville Metro Police and Fire Departments to find out how the show was started while officers were in harm’s way, trapped inside the blast zone by someone with an itchy trigger finger.
A big blast for the 4th
One unit of Nashville, Tennessee’s Metro Police Department had a view for this year’s Independence Day celebration fireworks that was a little too good. The theme of the day was “Let Freedom Sing!”
Just before the show was supposed to start, someone noticed people in the blast zone who shouldn’t be there. Cops went in to rescue them and were trapped by a premature detonation incident.
On Monday, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Joseph Pleasant issued a statement declaring that the two departments are launching a joint review of “the events to determine how the incident happened and how to prevent similar situations in the future.” The blast made the affected officers more than a little nervous and they want to know how it happened.
“The safety of all personnel and the safety of the public is our department’s number one priority.” SWAT officers “were dispatched to the building and found all the doors locked. They knocked and attempted to look into the building on every level that they could access from the stairwell on the building’s exterior. No one came to any of the doors and they could not see anyone by looking through the windows at that point; however, NFD personnel relayed that Bridge Building security cameras showed people inside.”
Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation president Butch Spyridon is trying to wipe egg off his face too. He explained that “Fire Marshal teams spotted some individuals in the Bridge Building. I believe they were employees of somebody, I don’t know who they are, so they delayed the show.”
The building was ground central for the explosive displays. Before the big blast, Fire Marshall’s “called PD. They got in, they cleared the building.” That’s when things started to go wrong.
Communication breakdown
Apparently what happened is a basic breakdown in communications. That isn’t supposed to happen with properly trained pyrotechnic crews. “The communication chain between fire and PD had a missing link that has been corrected.
They’ve already improved that, but it was simply a one side thought it was clear, and the other side didn’t get that message.” The huge blast looked as spectacular as it was supposed to and the officers stuck in the middle of it got the full impact of the presentation.
“Prior to the start of the fireworks, NFD Fire Marshal personnel spotted a person on the roof of the Bridge Building. An MNPD helicopter flew to the area and confirmed that there was an individual on the roof. The fire marshal advised that the show would not begin until the person was off the roof and the building cleared of anyone else.”
They didn’t want to light the blast show off until everyone was safe. Luckily, Spyridon noted, “The helicopter was out of harm’s way.” He couldn’t say the same for officers. “Four persons, a Bridge Building employee and three of her friends, were located inside. They were escorted out. Eight SWAT officers then divided into two teams to clear the building to ensure that no one else was inside.”
While “the officers were still in the building and the helicopter remained close by, a security guard apparently relayed to an NFD employee that he was the last one in the building. Without going through command and without checking with MNPD to ensure officers were out of the building, the message was relayed to start the fireworks show.”
The personnel “that were in the building were directed to go to a specific location at the bottom and that they would be safe, and that it was better to keep the show going. They’ve worked it out.” They managed to successfully evade effects of the blast but weren’t happy about it one bit.
